About Us

About Us

Founded at Yale University in 1895, Pi Lambda Phi (Pilam) was the first non-sectarian fraternity in the United States, accepting men of good character without regard to race or religion. Today, Pilam chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada cultivate a brotherhood that promotes academics, community service, philanthropic engagement, leadership development, financial responsibility, social skills, and lifelong relationships. These values and the skills learned through the process help Pilam men succeed in their post-graduate endeavors. All of this is offered to undergraduate members in an environment free from hazing and drug & alcohol abuse.

The Indiana Epsilon Iota Colony of Pi Lambda Phi was founded in the Spring of 2017. The men of Purdue Pilam work tirelessly to make their communities better places. The brothers' average GPA is in the top ten for all fraternities on campus and the Colony is one of the most diverse fraternities at Purdue. Purdue Pilams are dedicated to making Purdue a place free of prejudice.

In 1895 at Yale University, a group of men were denied the right of admission into college fraternities because of their religious and racial backgrounds. The leaders of this group were three gentlemen, Frederick Manfred Werner, Louis Samter Levy and Henry Mark Fisher-our Founding Fathers.
Werner, Levy and Fisher had a vision of a fraternity where neither sect nor creed shall ever act as a bar to admission for any man.
This is how Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity was established. In the preamble of the Founders' Bulletin, dated March 1895, it states:
"We students at American colleges appreciating the need of a fraternity which shall eliminate all sectarianism do hereby associate ourselves in this Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity."